Ranking Each Team 1–30 In Terms of Watchability
Not all teams are created equally. Which means that some can be particularly painful to watch at times, while others are a pleasure. Here are all 30 teams ranked based on who’s the most exciting draw.
Perhaps “watchability” is not the right word — “excitingness” might be more appropriate. Either way, it’s not too early to tell which teams are the most intriguing to watch around the league. Here’s how I rank them 1 through 30:
1. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
No reason to overthink this one. The best player in baseball and the most exciting player in baseball combine to make the most interesting team to watch. On top of that, the Angels are playing competitively to this point, trailing the Astros by just 1.5 games in the AL West. Between Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Justin Upton, and Albert Pujols, this club has plenty of household names in the regular lineup to keep the average fan engaged. The question for the Angels will be whether their pitching is good enough to keep them in the postseason race throughout the summer.
2. New York Yankees
Good or bad, the Yankees are sure to be one of the hottest stories in baseball all season long. Giancarlo Stanton’s early struggles have made this even more apparent, as the slugger is batting only .195/.295/.416 with 31 strikeouts in 19 games for the Bronx Bombers. Stanton’s woes might have even overshadowed Aaron Judge’s early successes — Judge is batting .319/.462/.604 with seven home runs and 17 RBIs.
3. Houston Astros
Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, Alex Bregman, George Springer, Justin Verlander, Dallas Keuchel, and Gerrit Cole. That should be just about all the explaining you need here.
4. New York Mets
Like the Yankees, the stage of New York makes the Mets an immediate draw, for better or for worse. It doesn’t hurt that the Mets are off to one of the most successful starts to a season in franchise history thanks to aces such as Noah Syndergaard or Jacob deGrom. No matter who is on the mound of the Amazins’, it’s sure to be an interesting start.
5. Boston Red Sox
This spot might be a little too low for the Sox, who own the best record in baseball despite getting no-hit by Sean Manaea last week. The Red Sox currently have the second-best offense in baseball and the fourth best team ERA. The race between Boston and New York will be one of the main storylines in Major League Baseball this season.
6. Washington Nationals
The Nationals are budding with exciting superstars like Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Max Scherzer, and Stephen Strasburg. It’s all about the postseason for the Nationals, however, who have never advanced past to the National League Division Series since relocating to the nation’s capital.
7. Cleveland Indians
The Indians are no longer new to the party — their stars are established, young, and as exciting as anyone’s in the league.
8. Philadelphia Phillies
For all the negative talk about first-year manager Gabe Kapler at the beginning of the season, the Phillies have rebounded nicely and now sit just 0.5 games back of the Mets for first place in the division. Philadelphia, like the Cubs and Astros in recent years, is an exciting club brimming with youthful energy. It might be a year too early to consider the Phillies legitimate contenders, but Philly makes the NL East one of the most exciting races to follow come crunch time.
9. Chicago Cubs
Is this the year Javy Baez puts it all together? The second baseman is batting .307/.365/.693 with seven home runs and 25 RBIs.
10. Seattle Mariners
Mitch Haniger is tied for second in baseball with nine home runs, adding to an already potent offense in Seattle.
11. Los Angeles Dodgers
The Dodgers will surely move up this list as the season advances, but for right now they are the victim of an unenthusiastic beginning with the absence of Justin Turner. Los Angeles is simply too talented to not go on a run eventually, though the Diamondbacks should give them some cause for concern.
12. Arizona Diamondbacks
Speaking of Arizona, here they are. The D-backs pitching makes them a real contender, especially if Zack Greinke is able to improve upon his lackluster start behind guys like Patrick Corbin and Zach Godley.
13. Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates are one of the most surprising teams in baseball and have won four in a row after losing five of six.
14. Colorado Rockies
The Nolan Arenado show might be the most exciting in baseball. Is it possible we still underrate this guy?
15. Milwaukee Brewers
Lorenzo Cain’s .407 batting average would be the highest of his career.
16. San Francisco Giants
Until Madison Bumgarner returns from the DL, the Giants stand as a middling team deprived of any offense. Veterans Andrew McCutchen and Evan Longoria have struggled to get going in San Francisco.
17. San Diego Padres
San Diego will fly up this list once some of their big-name prospects reach the big leagues, especially prized shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. The Padres have more top-100 prospects than any team in baseball, making them an interesting watch despite the fact that they might not win very many games in 2018.
18. Minnesota Twins
Jose Berrios is emerging as a true ace — the Puerto Rican native has struck out 36 batters in 31.2 innings pitched.
19. Atlanta Braves
Freddie Freeman, Ozzie Albies, and soon Ronald Acuna? Yes, please. The Braves have a chance to be better than most thought heading into the season.
20. Oakland Athletics
This is a very similar situation to the Phillies, and 20 is probably a little too harsh for this exciting group in Oakland. Matt Chapman is one of the brightest young stars in the game, Matt Olson has the potential to hit 35+ home runs for the next decade, and Jed Lowrie is the hottest hitter on the planet. The crowds at the stadium might not be too great, but the A’s are actually putting a product worth watching on the field.
21. Texas Rangers
With both Elvis Andrus and Rougned Odor sidelined, the Rangers find themselves in a difficult position early.
22. St. Louis Cardinals
Despite the fact that they’re a pretty good team, St. Louis suffers from what is probably just Cardinal fatigue. Guys like Marcell Ozuna and Jose Martinez must break out in order to make the Cards more compelling to watch.
23. Cincinnati Reds
Billy Hamilton is batting just .175 to this point.
24. Toronto Blue Jays
Toronto has lost four games in a row, leading to some pessimism after their impressive start to the campaign.
25. Chicago White Sox
Despite having struck out 41 times in 94 at-bats, former number one overall prospect Yoan Moncada has sent six balls over the fence in 2018.
26. Baltimore Orioles
Manny Machado is first in the AL in batting average and second in home runs — the time might be approaching for Baltimore to trade the prized slugger.
27. Detroit Tigers
On the bright side, Miguel Cabrera appears to have rebounded from a tumultuous 2017 season and is batting .333/.422/.540.
28. Kansas City Royals
Fangraphs currently gives the Royals a 0.0% chance to reach the postseason.
29. Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays have actually won 8 games in a row! It might be time to start paying more attention to Tampa Bay.
30. Miami Marlins
You probably expected this.
